Today, TechFreedom signed a coalition letter that calls on the House of Representatives to adopt an amendment defunding suspicionless spying. The so called Amash Amendment is currently under consideration as a part of the defense appropriations bill , and is expected to be voted upon today. The full letter along with the signatories follows below.
Dear Member of the U.S. House of Representatives:
We write to urge that you vote yes on the bipartisan Amash amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2397). Rep. Amash’s proposed amendment would defund mass, blanket surveillance of the phone or Internet records of Americans who are not subjects of authorized terrorism or espionage investigations.
This would preserve the NSA’s ability to obtain specific records of specific persons, as Congress originally intended, while effectively ending blanket surveillance of millions of Americans who are not involved in a threat to national security.
The Amash amendment will give Congress the time to consider revisions to FISA in a careful, considered manner, while protecting Americans’ constitutional rights and defusing a crisis that has undermined Americans’ trust in those charged with protecting us all against genuine threats.
Sincerely,
TechFreedom
Competitive Enterprise Institute
R Street Institute
FreedomWorks
Less Government
Americans for Job Security
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.